Bank reconciliation template
The bank statement says one number and the books say another. This template puts the statement balance on one side and the book balance on the other, then makes you account for every dollar between them. Fill it in below or download it for Excel. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Fill it in
Type amounts the way they appear on the statement. Deposits, cheques, credits and charges go in as positive numbers: the section decides whether they add or subtract. Only the two error lines take a sign. The Excel file has a blank sheet and the example sheet, with formulas.
Bank side
Book side
Balanced
The adjusted balances agree. Record the entries below and the books match the bank.
Entries the books need
No entries: nothing on the book side yet.
Bank-side lines need no entry: they clear on next month's statement.
Everything stays in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.
How a bank reconciliation works
Two columns, each ending on an adjusted balance. When both adjusted balances are the same number, the account is reconciled.
Bank side
Statement ending balance + deposits in transit − outstanding cheques ± bank errors = adjusted bank balance
Book side
Book balance + interest and deposits the bank recorded − fees, NSF cheques and charges ± book errors = adjusted book balance
The bank side is about timing. A deposit made on the 31st shows up on next month's statement; a cheque mailed last week clears when the supplier cashes it. None of that needs an entry. The book side is the list of things the bank knows and your books do not yet, plus your own typing mistakes. Every line there becomes an entry.
A bank reconciliation example
Studio Nord, a fictional design studio in Montréal, reconciles its chequing account for August 2026. The statement ends at $12,480.00. The general ledger says $11,621.35. That is $858.65 apart, and six lines explain all of it.
| Bank side | |
|---|---|
| Statement balance, August 31 | 12,480.00 |
| Customer deposit, August 31 | +2,150.00 |
| Cheque 1042, Papeterie Duval | -480.00 |
| Cheque 1057, rent | -3,125.40 |
| Adjusted bank balance | 11,024.60 |
| Book side | |
|---|---|
| Book balance, August 31 | 11,621.35 |
| Interest | +18.75 |
| Monthly service charge | -42.50 |
| NSF cheque, customer Atelier Rive | -600.00 |
| Cheque 1051 entered as 385.00, cleared at 358.00 | +27.00 |
| Adjusted book balance | 11,024.60 |
Difference: 0.00
The four entries it produces
- Debit Bank 18.75, credit Interest income. The interest was on the statement and nowhere else.
- Debit Bank charges 42.50, credit Bank. The month's fee.
- Debit Accounts receivable (Atelier Rive) 600.00, credit Bank. The customer's cheque bounced, so they owe the money again.
- Debit Bank 27.00, credit the account cheque 1051 was posted to. 385 typed for 358: a difference of 27, divisible by 9, which is what swapped digits look like.
The two cheques and the deposit stay on the list until next month's statement shows them. Cheque 1042 has been outstanding since May; at that age it is worth a call to the supplier. The Fill in the example button loads these numbers into the worksheet above.
The same job in QuickBooks Online
In QuickBooks Online, reconciling is a screen with a checkbox beside each transaction, and it stays in QuickBooks. Go to All apps, then Accounting, then Reconcile. Pick the account, enter the Ending balance and Ending date from the statement, and select Start reconciling. Tick each transaction that also appears on the statement. When the Difference reads 0.00, select Finish now. QuickBooks saves a reconciliation report under History by account.
The screen does the bank side for you: whatever you leave unticked is a deposit in transit or an outstanding cheque, and it waits for next month. It does not do the book side. The $42.50 fee and the bounced $600.00 cheque have to be entered in QuickBooks before the Difference can reach 0.00, and they are not on the screen to tick until they are. This template is the scratch paper for that: write the book-side lines down, enter them, then tick.
→ Steps from Intuit's help article on reconciling, read on September 25, 2026 ↗
Why it will not balance
A statement line missing from the books
Bank fees, interest, a bounced customer cheque, a loan payment taken automatically. The most common cause of a small difference.
The same transaction twice
Entered by hand, then accepted again from the bank feed. Both look legitimate.
Swapped digits
385 typed instead of 358. The difference divides evenly by 9.
A sign the wrong way round
A 250.00 refund entered as a 250.00 payment. The difference is exactly twice the amount: 500.00.
A payment that never became a deposit
In QuickBooks, customer payments sitting in Undeposited Funds. The bank shows one deposit; the books show five payments and no deposit.
A starting balance that moved
Someone edited or deleted a transaction in a month already reconciled. The new month will not balance until the old one is fixed.
If the books are in QuickBooks Online
Caribooks connects QuickBooks Online to Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot. Its Monthly statements loop runs at the start of each month: it asks you for last month's statements it does not have, attaches the ones it receives, and lists what the books and the statements do not agree on. The ticking stays on the Reconcile screen, and stays yours.
When a difference refuses to close, ask the assistant: "Which August transactions in the chequing account, alone or in pairs, add up to 413.00?" It reads the ledger and looks for the combination. The loop is part of Autopilot; the assistant on its own is the Connector.
Quick answers
What is a bank reconciliation?
Comparing the bank statement with the bank account in your books for the same period, and explaining every difference between the two balances. Most businesses do it monthly, for every bank account and credit card, as soon as the statement arrives.
What goes on the bank side, and what goes on the book side?
The bank side holds what the bank has not seen yet: deposits in transit, outstanding cheques and the bank's own mistakes. The book side holds what your books have not seen yet: interest, fees, NSF cheques, automatic withdrawals, and your own entry mistakes.
Which items need a journal entry?
Only the book side. Each line there is missing from the books or wrong in them, so it gets an entry. Bank-side items clear by themselves on the next statement; a bank error is fixed by calling the bank.
Where does an NSF cheque go in a bank reconciliation?
On the book side, as a deduction. You recorded it as a deposit, then the bank took it back. Charge it back to the customer's receivable, because they still owe you the money.
Can QuickBooks Online reconcile for me?
It helps: bank feeds bring the transactions in and the Reconcile screen keeps the Difference up to date. A person still ticks the boxes on that screen. No connector, Caribooks included, ticks them.